Meat Broth vs Bone Broth

Almost every week I cook a chicken. The most economical way for me to use this chicken (organic and free range) is to submerge it into a large pot of water with a tablespoon of vinegar and let it sit for an hour. Then I bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer for an hour and a half. I do skim off anything that floats to the top. I remove the hot cooked chicken at this point and set aside. What is left in the pot is a clear-ish yellow broth I refer to as meat broth. It tastes bright and light. I enjoy it with a squeeze of lemon and dash of salt. I usually will set aside three to four pints of this meat broth in the fridge for drinking during the week. The rest I use to make soup in the evening. When the chicken cools I take all the meat off the carcass. I use all the dark meat in the soup for that evening. I store the breasts for salads or casserole during the week. I take the carcass and put it into my Instant Pot. This is a new device that I have brought into regular usage. I used to use a pot or my oven top pressure cooker. During the week I take odds and ends from carrots, celery, and onions. I keep them in a plastic zip lock bag in the freezer. I take them out and add them to the Instant Pot as well. I cover with clean filtered water. When I cooked this broth on the stove top I would simmer for 24-48 hours in a pot with a lid. In my stovetop pressure cooker, I would pressure cook for 45 minutes let it naturally release overnight and take the lids off and strain in the morning. In my Instant Pot, I do about the same thing, I pressure cook high for 45 minutes. I do not release the steam, I let it naturally release overnight and strain in the morning This is bone broth, and if you have done it well, at room temperature it will be gelatinous. If you see chicken feet at your local butcher or grocer buy them! They are very affordable and will add great gelatin to your broths! Just toss one or two in your pot. Bone broth is more complex, deeper in flavor, darker brown, and savory.

This method gives you so much stock and really utilizes the whole chicken. Not to mention you get two meals at least our of your chicken for two people. I usually have soup left over for lunches as well.

Raw chicken getting ready to be cooked. Fully cooked and cooling chicken. Soup from the meat broth. Frozen vegetable ends from the freezer in the Instant Pot ready to be cooked with the chicken carcass for bone broth.